Table of Contents
5 Ways on How to Help Your Child Prepare for School
It’s that time of the year again! Children will once again be returning to school.
In this article, let me show you 5 Ways on How to Help Your Child Prepare for School.
This post applies to children who are attending school for the first time, as well as those who are returning for a new school year.
Some children are excited to go to school, while others get scared or anxious.
It could get daunting, but don’t worry!
Preparation is key. In no particular order, here are some of the things that you can do to prepare them for a new environment.
Visit the School before Classes Start
Set one day for a school visit.
Explore the campus, show them their classroom, and possibly meet the teacher, too.
Show them where they’ll be doing activities – where they’ll read with their classmates, where they can play, have their snack, and so on.
Set Play Dates with Classmates
If you know anyone in the neighborhood who goes to the same class, you can set a play date with them!
This way, you’ll be able to interact with other parents, and your child will be able to have a friend that they’ll see more often once school starts.
Familiar faces could be comforting!
Some children will have a longer time adjusting than others, but this will be worth it in the long run.
Just be patient! My kid was very shy at first, but on the third meeting (we started with the play dates pretty early), he started to have a lot of fun.
Tell your Child about the Schedule they will have
Talk about the schedule that you and your child will have once school starts.
You don’t need to go into specifics (i.e., exact time and place), just give them an idea of what will happen throughout the day.
About a month before school started, I would casually tell my son, who is in preschool, that I will drive him to school and his dad will pick him up – the start and end of the day.
In between, I would squeeze in information about reading time, nap time, and play time.
Talk about Meeting New Friends and doing Fun Activities
Aside from giving them an idea of the school schedule, you can also give them something to look forward to, like meeting new friends and doing fun activities.
If your child likes to keep to himself/herself, do not force them to interact with other kids.
Being shy is OK, and you should not force them to do something that they’re not comfortable doing.
What’s important is they’re not anxious or nervous!
Go Shopping for School Supplies with them
This one’s a fun bonding activity! Bring your kids to the store when you go shopping for school supplies.
Give them choices on the things that they’re going to be using for the rest of the school year such as bags, lunch boxes, pillows, blankets.
This will allow them to look forward to school so they can finally use it, as well as have a sense of comfort in their favorite things.
Good luck!
I hope you learned something from this post, “5 Ways on How to Help Your Child Prepare for School“
The first day of school may conjure up some anxiety on both child and parent, but you can do something about it!
I hope these five things will help you and your child adjust to a new school year better.
If you have comments or suggestions, kindly leave them in the comments section. I’d love to hear from you!
Related reading, Essential Back to School checklist for Preschoolers, Surviving the Back to School Crash and Ways to keep Kids Safe in the Car as School Starts.
—————————————————————————————————————————–
Bio
My name is Stacy Belk, founder of MomWoot.Com. I’m a mother of two boys aged 6 and 9 and a wife to a loving husband. I used to work in the food industry, but is now a stay-at-home mom who continues to cook for the family!